1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic take-up device for automatically winding and taking up a continuous sheet of paper on which transaction results are printed.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional automatic take-up device is shown in FIG. 5. A continuous sheet of paper A is guided upward (as viewed in FIG. 5) along a first guide plate D of a guide arm B to a guide module roller E which is also part of the guide arm B. The continuous sheet of paper A is conveyed from the guide module roller E to first guide module C. This take-up device includes a second guide arm F which is constructed similarly to the guide arm B. The first guide module C and a second guide module K are biased towards a take-up shaft G by springs H and I, respectively. The continuous sheet of paper A is conveyed by the clockwise rotation (as viewed in FIG. 5) of the take-up shaft G and the guide module roller E which rotates in accordance with the rotation of the take-up shaft G. This causes the continuous sheet of paper A to be conveyed along the guide plate D to the take-up shaft G. The continuous sheet of paper A is wound around the take-up shaft G from the tip of the first guide module C to a second guide module K of the second guide arm F. The continuous sheet of paper A is wound in a clockwise direction (as viewed in FIG. 5) from the second guide module K to the first guide module C. The continuous sheet of paper A is continuously taken up or rolled onto the take-up shaft G, thereby forming a paper roll.
At the completion of the take-up operation with the conventional take-up device, a flange member (not shown) which secures the paper roll to the take-up shaft G is detached from an end G-1 of the take-up shaft G. To remove the roll of continuous paper A, the guide arms B and F are extended upper-leftward and lower-rightward, as viewed in FIG. 5, respectively. The taken-up paper roll is then pulled off of the end of the take-up shaft G.
However, the conventional device has a number of drawbacks. Because it is necessary to provide the first and second guide arms B and F in two positions on the diagonal line centering on the take-up shaft G, the take-up device of the prior art necessarily uses an undesirable amount of space. In addition, when the take-up roll is detached from the take-up shaft G, it sometimes occurs that the most outer peripheral part of the paper roll gets caught, for example, on the guide module roller E or on the first and the second guide plates D and J. In order to prevent the above, the first and the second guide modules C and K must be simultaneously extended sufficiently upper-leftward and lower-rightward (as viewed in FIG. 5) in order to remove the paper roll from the take-up shaft G. Accordingly, removing the paper roll from take-up shaft G is cumbersome and time consuming. Also, removing the paper roll from the take-up shaft G is performed in an ATM (automated teller machine), for example, by pulling out a printer in the ATM which printer includes the take-up device. It is very hard for a service person to remove the paper roll from the take-up device because the ATM's are often placed in a narrow area, such as adjacent to a wall in a bank.